Safety-elevator.



T. w. JONES.; SAFETY ELU/MOR.

AP'PLICATION FILED NOV-2 i918.

l 301 '79 E, Patented A p1". ,22, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET. l.

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T. W. JONES. SAFETY E'LEvAToR.

APPLICATION FILED NOVI?. 191B.

Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- THOMAS W. JGNES, 0F BICKNELL, INDIANA.

SAFETY-ELEVATOB..

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 22, 1919.

Application filed November 2, 1918. Serial No. 260,891.

'adapted for use in connection with elevators or mine cages for preventing dropping of the saine in the event of breaking of the lifting cable. j.

@ne of the main objects of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient safety device which may be readily applied to an elevator or a mine cage for automatically locking the saine against dropping in the event of the lifting cable breaking.

A. further object is to provide guide rails for guiding the cage during raising and low`l ering of the same1 the rails being provided with upwardly directed shoulders or teeth and the cage having laterally projecting locking members for engagement with the teeth, these members being normally held in inoperative position by tensioning of the lifting cable.

Another object is to provide a device of the character stated which may be readily applied to a mine cage or elevator of standard construction without necessitating any material changes in the construction of the cage itself.

Further objects will appear from the detailed description.

In the drawings; l Figure V1 is 'a transverse vertical section through a mine cage with a safety apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention applied, Vthe guide railsand the timbers for supporting the same being shown.

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view showing the plate for guiding and bracing the locking member.

Fig. 4t is a section taken substantially on line Ll-1 of Fig. 1.

the bow springs and the connecting pin therefor.

rIhe cage designated generally by A is of standard and well known construction and is guided duringvertical movement in the shaft B betweenthe guide rails 1 which are secured in vertical position within the shaft by means of the securing bolts 2 inserted through the rails and secured to the cross timbers 3 of the shaft. Each of these rails isof channel construction and is provided with an inset central toothed portion 1a the teeth i of which incline upwardly and inwardly of the shaft having their upper faces or shoulders disposed horizontally. The cage is provided at each side, and adjacent the upper and lower ends thereof, with angle plates 5 which are rigidly secured to the sides of the cage, these plates fitting snugly about the lateral faces of the rails so as to guide the cage during raising and lowering of the same. The rails are preferably constructed of sui-table lengths of steel so as to have the requisite strength to withstand the strain to which they are subjected, these lengths being bolted together and connected by any suitable or preferred means. It will be understood, of course, that the lengths of the rail sections may be varied as desired.

Substantially rectangular bracing and guide plates 6 are secured to each side of the cage a short distance from the top thereof, these plates being provided with rectangular openings which are in register with similar openings extending through the side walls of the cage. Locking members 7 are slidable through the openings of the plates tive position. Member 7 is provided, in its inner portion, with a vertical slot 8 which snugly receives the lower end portion of the outer arm 9 of a bell crank lever l() which is rockably mounted at its angle, in a U hanger 11 depending from the top 12 of the cage and rigidly secured thereto by riveting or in any other suitable manner. The inner end portion of the inner arm 13 of bell crank 10 is provided with a longitudinally eXtending slot 14 which receives a connecting pin 15. This pin fits snugly through an aperture provided through the lower end portion of a vertically disposed plunger 16 slidable through top 12 of the Cage, the arms of the bell cranks being positioned at opposite sides of this plunger. The body portion 16L of the plunger is of polygonal cross section and fits snugly through the opening provided through the top of the cage therefor so as to be held against rotary movement while being free from vertical movement. The locking members 7 are thus connected to the plunger 16 so as to be moved inwardly or into inoperative position when the plunger is raised, these members being extended into the path of the teeth l of the guide rails 1, when this plunger is depressed.

The ends of the connecting pin 15 are secured in oppositely directed clamping blocks 17 each of which is positioned closely adjacent the inner arm 13 of one of the bell cranks 10. Each of these blocks is provided, in its outer end portion, with a horizontally disposed slot which receives an upwardly directed bow spring 18 of laminated construction, this spring being held in proper position within the block by a securing' screw 19, as shown. 'lhese two springs are positioned at opposite sides of the plunger 16 and equidistant therefrom, the upper ends of the arms of the springs bearing against the top of the cage, and these springs acting to normally depress the plunger so as to hold the locking members in extended or operative position.

An inverted U-shaped retaining frame 20 is secured to the top 12 of the cage in alinement with the plunger 16, the top bar 21 of this frame being provided with an opening which snugly receives the reduced upper cylindrical portion 22 of the plunger so as to guide the same during vertical movement. Downward movement of the plunger through thetop of the cage is positively limited by a stop pin 23 inserted therethrough adjacent the upper end of the body 16a of the plunger. A washer 24 is mounted about the reduced upper portion 22 of the plunger and is held in position thereon by the pin 23 and the shoulders formed at the upper end of the body 16a. An expansion coil spring 25 is mounted about the reduced upper portion of the plunger and coniined between the top bar 21 of frame 20 and the washer 24, this spring coacting with the bow springs to force the plunger downwardly. Lifting chains 26 are secured at their lower ends to the cage at the top and adjacent each side thereof, the upper ends of these springs being secured through a ring 27 secured to the lower end of the lifting cable 28. The upper end of plunger 16 is connected by a flexible connection consisting of a plurality of links 29 to the ring 27 so that when the lifting cable is tensioned for rais-V ing the cage, the plunger will bemoved upwardly against-,the downward pressure of the bow springs 18 and expansion spring 25 so as to move the locking members 7 inwardly into inoperative position. When the plunger is in raised position, the locking members are moved out of the path of the teeth 4 of guide rails 1, but project into the channels of these rails a short distance so as to be readily movable into engagement with the teeth when released. In the event of the cable 28 breaking, or of this cable becoming slack due to the hoisting mechanism becoming out of order, dropping of the cage 90 will be prevented by the locking members which will be moved outwardly immediately upon release of the plunger' so as to engage the teeth of the guide rails thus positively locking the cage in the shaft so as to prevent downward movement thereof. As stated, the guide rails are preferably constructed of suitable lengths of steel so as to be very strong and well able to withstand the strain to which they are subjected.

It will be evident that there may be slight changes made in the construction and arrangement of the details of my invention without departing from the field and scope of the same, and I intend to include all such 105 variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claim, in this application in which a preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

What I claim is:

The combination with spaced guide rails provided with upwardly and inwardly inclined teeth, of a cage slidable between said rails, a lifting cable secured to said cage for raising and lowering the same, bell crank 115 levers rockably mounted within the cage, locking members projecting through the side walls of said cage and connected to the outer arms of the bell crank levers so as to be moved outwardly into position for en- 120 gagement with the teeth of the rails when the inner arms of the bell cranks are depressed, a plunger slidable through the top of the cage and connected at its upper end to said cable so as to be raised thereby when 125 the cable is tensioned, a connecting pin inserted through said plunger adjacent the lower end thereof, blocks secured on the ends of the pin at opposite sides of and equidistant from the plunger, and bow spring car- 130 mower ried by said blocks 'and pressing against the ln testimony whereof l aiiix my sigmau gop of th1 cage o as to force thebplunger ture in presence of two Witnesses.

ownwar y, sai connectin in ein i11- serted through the inner enspo the ignner THUMAS W JONES'N 5 arms of the bell crank levers and said arms Witnesses:

being longitudinally slotted to receive said Wim.. H. MENKE, pin. JAMES A. JONES.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1D. d. 

